AEW star sends a message to MJF amid his unexplained absence

MJF has been away from AEW for a few months, but he remains one of the most popular members of the roster. A fellow roster member has just sent a special message to the former AEW World Champion. The star in question is "Smart" Mark Sterling.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is celebrating his 28th birthday today. The Salt of the Earth has not wrestled since late December, as he needed to take time off to heal up from "a plethora of injuries" sustained during his championship reign. The word coming out of the locker room was that the AEW Original would be away for a while.

Mark Sterling bills himself as the most famous professional wrestling lawyer. The All Elite manager-attorney provides his legal services to several stars, including the former Casino Ladder Match winner. Sterling took to X today to post photos from the infamous 2022 powerbomb segment with MJF and Wardlow while also wishing his former client a happy birthday.

"Happy Bday @The_MJF I always have your back!" wrote Sterling.

MJF has not wrestled since the Worlds End Pay-Per-View on December 30. The 18-minute main event saw Samoa Joe capture the AEW World Championship after Adam Cole turned on his former partner. Cole then revealed himself to be The Devil as MJF was beaten down by The Undisputed Kingdom.

Tony Khan comments on MJF's AEW future

The All Elite Wrestling future of MJF has been a hot topic of discussion ever since he started teasing his "bidding war" a while back.

The relationship between Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Tony Khan has played out on social media and in the storylines. Speaking to SportsGrid in a recent interview, the AEW President commented on The Salt of The Earth's status.

Khan did confirm that MJF was dealing with multiple injuries. He added that he hopes to have the former World Champion back at any time.

"Well, it's something to keep an eye on with MJF. He's a great wrestler for AEW and has been a great World Champion. He was very injured and I would love to have MJF back anytime and we'll see what happens here," Khan said. [H/T: WrestlingInc]

Check out the video below:

Reports suggest that WWE still has an interest in signing MJF, but there are many factors at play. It's expected that Khan would offer more money to keep his homegrown talent.